I hate mayonnaise

No, it’s never done anything to me except defile a perfectly good BLT,and yes, I know hate is a strong word,and I hate mayonnaise.

It’s like the Elmer’s glue of the sandwich world, only it’s made out of eggs.And yes, even a drop it a lot, no matter whatcha got.

Now some of my best friends are bright, beautiful mayonnaise-consumers,and they even have incredible futures ahead of them despite the fact that they allow the perpetuation of this mayononsense.And do you know what else?

I love them.

Obviously, right? Because why would I ever let my view draw a line in the sand(wich lol) between me and someone I love?

And yet I do. I think sometimes we all do.

Because he believes this.And she goes to that party.And he dated her,And I HATE her.But guess what?I also hate mayonnaise.

I think we run into this danger a lot with religion, especially in the Christian community.We see someone who does not live by the same morals as us, and we dissociate ourselves from them.As if our standards triumph over our generosity.As if their beliefs limit our ability to love.

If your religion takes first place, it begins to flex its muscles at the expense of mercy.

-Andy Stanley

My religion is incredibly important to me,But religion alone is not my religion.Love is my religion.

Because even the Man who created my religion did not put religion first;He put love first.

Jesus’s take on the two most important commandments?

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'”

-Luke 10:27

Of course, we are entitled to our own beliefs, and we should not be afraid of holding them. But that does not limit our capacity for love.

We must remember that rules don’t change like people do.People break rules. People disappoint. People fall short of standards.But we were never meant to leave them in the dust.That’s where love comes in to bridge the gap, to do what rules cannot.

Love doesn’t look down on a person who falls.Love doesn’t even simply reach a condescending hand from above.Love gets down in the dirt and pulls a person up.

Loving others demands inconsistency.It demands being willing to disregard the rules when necessary.It demands being comfortable with dirt.It demands saying, “I don’t believe in mayonnaise. But I believe in you, and I will love you.”